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January 29, 2013by: Heather Brummett

Houston Waiter Refused Service To A Customer & Stood Up For Boy With Special Needs

A local Houston restaurant took the national spotlight last week as a waiter refused to serve a customers after a comment that upset him. Michael Garcia a waiter at Laurenzo’s Prime Rib in Houston,is being celebrated for standing up for a little boy with Down syndrome.

The Castillo family, was at Laurenzo’s Prime Rib in Houston last week when several waiters stopped by their table. Their 5-year-old son, Milo, who has Down syndrome and whose speech is a little delayed, was showing off his new words and talking about his birthday the week earlier. He was very excited as he shared with the staff.

A family sitting nearby reportedly felt the little boy was too loud. They asked to move away from the Castillo family’s table. The reason they wanted to move was the most upsetting part . One of the men in the group said

“Special needs children need to be special somewhere else.”

The waiter, Garcia, told reporters“My personal feelings took over, and I told him,

“I’m not going to be able to serve you, Sir.”

The man and his family got up to leave. Garcia said he asked the man before he left the restaurant with his party. “How could you say that about a beautiful 5-year-old angel?” Garcia later contacted 29-95.com and added the following: “Did he just say that in front of his own children? … I had considered whether or not I would lose my job, but I knew it wasn’t right. I could find another job and my guests would follow me. … I was pissed.”

The Castillo family are regulars at this restaurant but surprisingly so were the group that were refused service. According to the post on Whine and Dine the Castillo family has been taking Milo out to eat since he was born. His mother said that her son is better behaved than most children and was not misbehaving that night. Milo’s parents didn’t know about what happened until another waiter told them about it. Garcia did not want to upset them by telling them about the remark.

Garcia has worked at the restaurant for about two years. At the moment that the party made the remark and moved he reacted in a way some would say is admirable and some would say was wrong. Looks to me like that majority of people are in support of his bold move to refuse service to this group of people. As news of Garcia’s action spread across the Internet last week the comments started rolling in. There was an outpouring of comments on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

My thoughts: Yeah for Micheal Garcia! I hope that the people of this world will continue to encourage love and acceptance. I think he handled it in a professional manner. This story warms my heart!

About Heather Brummett

I am Heather Brummett , the owner of Living on Love and Cents, a Christian, wife and mom of 2. I'm a just a real mom, sharing my real life experiences with the world. Thank you for being a part of my world. Here you will find recipes, crafts, fun ideas for the kids, how to work at home, how to live on less, great deals, and the latest news in and around Houston. To be featured or for information on freelance work contact me at livingonloveandcents@gmail.com.